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• Part of UN sustainable development goal 9 is upgrading production capabilities. • Increasing economic complexity is a key driver for sustainable economic growth. • Sequential model selection used for robust generalised method of moments estimation. • Chinese FDI evidently shows a positive impact on host countries' economic complexity. • Global policy makers should deepen their relationships with the belt and road. Upgrading the production capabilities in all countries is a target of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 9. Increasing economic complexity, that is, a country's ability to manufacture more sophisticated products and thus moving up the value chain, is a key driver for sustainable economic growth. This paper investigates whether Chinese Belt and Road investments have impacted the economic complexity of host countries — a topic not addressed in the literature to date, using a sequential generalised method of moments model selection approach. The research focuses on the countries whose economic complexities are below that of China. Our empirical results show significant positive effects of Chinese investments on such host countries' economic complexities. The inflows of Chinese investments have thus supported the upgrading of production capabilities in these countries. This is encouraging, especially for the Global South countries, to intensify their interactions with the Belt and Road initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing life expectancy is part of the United Nation's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and is a primary indicator of overall quality of life. This paper investigates whether Chinese overseas direct investments into Belt and Road countries have brought about improvement in the life expectancy in these countries, using datasets compiled by non-China sources for the period 2005–2019. This topic has not been addressed in the literature to date. In addition, the generalized method of moments estimation approach used in the study incorporates a novel application of a systematic sequential model specification search which removes the criticism of the flexibility inherent in the method. No significant impact on life expectancy was found from such investments in the Belt and Road countries, which is likely because life expectancy changes slowly, and effects on life expectancy, if present, may only become measurable in years or decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The continuation of China's belt and road initiative (BRI) is assumed in most analyses. Yet, recent events have created significant reputational damage for China and Chinese businesses. With a trade war evolving into a hegemonic struggle, there are a number of potential developments that could derail the BRI. This paper aims to provide a contemporary review of the factors that could negatively impact its continuation, and what China has done to mitigate the risks. Design/methodology/approach: A descriptive paper that groups possible disruptive factors into three groups: internal weaknesses of the BRI and its design; those related to China's implementation of the BRI and external concerns and pressures. Findings: China has actively reviewed and refined the BRI to reduce its perceived weaknesses and increase its attractiveness to potential participants, focussing on debt dependency, transparency and governance. However, this has occurred at the same time as growing concerns regarding China's international assertiveness, the hegemonic challenge and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Research limitations/implications: These changes are occurring within an extremely dynamic environment and any analysis at one point in time is subject to considerable limitations. However, the paper brings together a range of disparate perspectives in a structured manner. Originality/value: The classification of possible threats to the BRI is original and provides insights into the relative significance of the diverse challenges that China faces. The paper concludes that while China's operational focus on the mechanics of the BRI process is necessary, it may not be sufficient to ensure its continuing development. The paper identifies the next step which is conceptualisation of these ideas and of the BRI. Some guidance as to how this might be done is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has become the lodestar of Beijing's efforts to increase its global political and economic influence. This article interrogates BRI discourse, arguing that the normative adoption of BRI narratives as a means for making sense of connectivities between China and other places risks producing new forms of epistemic violence against subaltern populations. The empirical focus of this paper is on China‐Laos relations, and the epistemic positioning of highland ethnic minority groups in northern Laos. This context offers a valuable case study for examining BRI discourse due to: (a) the profound effects of Chinese investment in Laos; (b) the geostrategic importance of Laos as a BRI 'gateway' between China and Southeast Asia; (c) the deep histories of ethnic minority engagements across China and Laos; and (d) the limited extant research on both China‐Laos relations and the more localized effects of Chinese actors within the highland border regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]